The Hawke’s Bay region is experiencing a prolonged period of economic growth and significant investment is being made in the transport infrastructure to support the increased demand on the transport network, particularly from freight.
The total investment in the 2015-18 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) is $245 million.
Planned investments in the state highway network and key arterial routes – such as those links between Hastings and Napier – are targeted to enhance the safety and efficiency of the transport network in and around Hawke’s Bay for residents, freight and tourists.
The Hawke’s Bay region has achieved a 38% growth in public transport passenger numbers over the past three years. To further encourage this trend, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and the NZ Transport Agency will invest $13m in public transport in the 2015-18 NLTP.
Investment in the Hawke’s Bay regional transport network also benefits the wider central North Island by facilitating tourism and freight journeys.
Napier and Hastings councils are pursuing the development of the growth areas outlined in the Heretaunga Plains Urban Development Strategy. Lyndhurst Growth Area within the Hastings District is an example of the continued commitment to planned growth in the region. Transport network planning is targeted at ensuring capacity and capability will meet demand created by these developments. The Councils are working with key stakeholders to develop these areas.
The Napier City Vision exercise has the aim of setting a future strategy for the city. The Napier City Vision provides a long-term integrated plan that includes consideration of future needs of the transport network. The Transport Agency is working closely with the Hawke’s Bay councils give effect to the regional planning strategies, through providing better connectivity between centres and regions, as well as providing fit-for-purpose levels of service.
The Napier Port is a key export port in the central North Island, with a catchment area crossing several regions. Inter-regional connectivity is crucial to enabling efficient freight supply chains and economic growth. Meetings between councils in the Hawke’s Bay and neighbouring regions have identified areas of importance, such as the Manawatu Gorge, where greater resilience of this inter-regional journey will enable growth.
Network resilience improvements include investment in the Saddle Road as an alternative route and rock fall protection works through the Manawatu Gorge will further improve resilience of the east to west journey.
Moving goods from large scale horticulture production and processing industries based around the fertile Heretaunga Plains puts a major demand on the transport network, and this is expected to increase if proposed construction of the Ruataniwha Dam goes ahead.
Investment of $4.4m has been provided for additional High Productivity Motor Vehicle (HPMV) routes from Hawke’s Bay to Gisborne in the north and Manawatu in the south. With the rail link north to Gisborne currently mothballed, a well-maintained and resilient road network is required to support freight traffic, further increasing the significance of State Highway 2. HPMV routes allow heavy vehicles to weigh up to 62 tonnes, by permit, and enable more freight to be carried on fewer trucks.
The Whakatu Arterial Link project will enable freight movement to and from the Port of Napier. This is a major project for the region, both in terms of the $14m investment as well as the economic growth benefits it will bring. The project will allow better access from the Whakatu freight distribution hub to State Highway 2 and through to the Port of Napier.
Improving transport choices for Hawke’s Bay residents is also a priority for the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and the Transport Agency. The region has achieved a 38% growth in passenger numbers over the past three years. To build on this, investment of $13m is being made through the 2015-18 NLTP to sustain and grow public transport patronage and provide enhancements to existing services. This public transport funding will also provide better facilities and improved integration with other transport modes, such as cycling and walking. It is forecast that 849,000 passenger trips will be made in Hawke’s Bay every year during the 2015-18 NLTP period.
In 2010 Hastings was selected as one of two New Zealand communities to receive funding specifically aimed at enhancing cycling and walking. The result was the successful iWay programme that saw the construction of over 108 kilometres of new cycling and walking pathways. Supported by an encouragement programme, iWay quickly became widely recognised as an innovative programme that reversed the trend of declining cycling rates. The Hastings iWay programme is now expected to be extended across the Hawke’s Bay.
Napier is now embracing the iWay programme, and working with Hastings to develop a strong commuter cycling route between the two cities. The Napier iWay network provides a unique opportunity to use a series of wide storm drainage reserves through the urban area to create wide, off-road pathways, and will offer safer and connected routes for people to cycle to work, and for over 8,000 students within 500m of the routes to cycle to schools. These routes will form the backbone of the future cycle network which, largely separated from traffic, is expected to attract increasing demand.
Under current proposals a six-year programme of investment will be cut to four years with investment expected from the Urban Cycleway Fund to further develop the existing network. This will resolve connectivity and safety issues. Most of the planned cycleways include high-quality shared paths that will also benefit pedestrians.
Riding on the success of iWay, the New Zealand Cycle Trails and expected investment in the 2015-18 NLTP period of $9m – including $2.9m from the Urban Cycleways Fund – the Hawke’s Bay is fast becoming New Zealand’s cycling destination of choice.
Keeping land transport networks available for people to get where they want to go easily, reliably and safely is a primary objective of transport investment within and beyond the Hawke’s Bay region. Over the 2015-18 NLTP period, local roads will receive $129m, and state highways $49m, for maintenance.
The Transport Agency is working with councils to agree how the transport network will be maintained and operated to deliver the right level of service to meet the different needs on different parts of the network.
Given the pressure to achieve value for money from maintenance activity funding, any maintenance cost savings identified by a council will benefit all stakeholders. Savings can be redirected to councils where the condition of the network warrants an increase in maintenance investment, and there is strong evidence to support the increase. Through their detailed asset management practices Hastings District Council has been able to demonstrate a need for increased investment, supported by a strong evidence base.
Across New Zealand around $3.2 billion is expected to be invested in the transport network over the next three years to improve safety. Most this will be directed at infrastructure improvements through the capital works programme, often where safety is one of the outcomes, along with congestion relief and travel time improvements. A proportion of this investment targets specific safety improvements including high risk intersections, pedestrian and cycling safety initiatives, speed management and education programmes.
A total of around $60m will be invested through the 2015-18 NLTP to improve safety on the region’s roads. High-risk intersections that have been prioritised for $13.4m of safety improvements, over the next three years include State Highway 2/Watchman/Hawke’s Bay Airport, State Highway 2/Napier Road, State Highway 50A/Pakowhai, and Links Road. The improvements, focused on the construction of roundabouts, have been designed with the aim of reducing the risk and severity of crashes at the intersections. It is forecast that the improvements could potentially prevent up to three deaths or serious injuries in the region per year.
Additional passing opportunities on State Highway 2 to the north of Napier were funded in the previous NLTP period to improve safety on the main transport journey that connects Hawke’s Bay to Gisborne, Napier and Wellington. A total of 18 passing places were proposed, to improve safety and ease potential driver frustration caused by freight traffic. Nine of 18 passing opportunities have now been completed. This important section of State Highway 2 will further benefit from the investment of $0.5m in business case developments for HPMVs, additional passing opportunities and corridor improvements, which will be undertaken over the next three years.
Working with NZ Police and investing together in road policing and road safety promotion is an integral part of the region’s safe system approach. During the next three-year period together we will continue to target the contributing factors to fatal and serious injuries in the Waikato, including speed, drink and drug driving, not wearing restraints, high risk driving, and high risk drivers.
